More than 12,000 volunteers from the tri-county area are expected to mobilize Aug. 3-9, as Life Remodeled, a nonprofit organization that “exists to remodel lives — one neighborhood at a time,” will participate in restoration projects in Detroit.

Student’s poem published in national kids magazine

By Mary Beth Almond

ROCHESTER HILLS — Not many people get the opportunity to have their work published in a national magazine, let alone at the age of 7.

This month, a short poem by McGregor Elementary School second-grader Brynna Gunn, of Rochester Hills, was published in Spider magazine — a collection of short fiction, poetry and illustrations designed for kids, ages 6-9.

In each issue, readers are invited to submit their original artwork or writing on a specific theme to “Spider’s Corner,” a special page dedicated to creations from readers across the world. Each month, hundreds of entries pour in, and editors select their favorites to be published in the magazine and at www.spi dermagkids.com/corner.

In October, readers were asked to submit an original poem about an imaginary creature.

“I saw the magazine and I saw that you had to put in a poem about an imaginary creature. I saw that it could go in the magazine, so I was thinking of water, and I wrote the poem down,” Brynna Gunn said.

Just this month, the family got word that her poem, “The Scaly Sea Creature,” would appear in the “Spider’s Corner” page of the February 2012 issue of Spider magazine.

“I was just so happy for her,” Lorrie Gunn, her mom, said of when she received the postcard in the mail.

Brynna Gunn said she was “surprised” to learn her poem was selected. “It felt great, “ she said.

Since preschool, Brynna Gunn has been very interested in writing and drawing.

“She writes all the time — not necessarily poems,” Lorrie Gunn said. “She would spend, like, six hours writing a story about our three dogs and draw pictures to go with the story. I kind of attribute that to Somerset Preschool. They were really good about saying, ‘Here is your drawing. Do you want to write something about it?’ Ever since then, she has been doing that, and we would scan it into the computer, so she would see her work come up on the computer screen. She thought that was awesome.”

Over the last year, Brynna Gunn has submitted a number of drawings, poems and other items to be considered for publication in Spider magazine, so her mom said the fact that one of her creations was finally chosen is a great learning tool.

“I think Brynna will really feel like she’s a contributor and that her ideas will be heard — maybe not the first time — but at some point,” Lorrie Gunn said.

Lorrie Gunn also believes the process has taught her daughter a very valuable lesson — if you work hard and keep trying, eventually you will succeed.